MSI R6970 Lightning Twin Frozr III Review (18 Phase PWM)

The tests were performed in a controlled air conditioned room with temperatures maintained at a constant 25c – a comfortable environment for the majority of people reading this.

Idle temperatures were measured after sitting at the desktop for 30 minutes. Load measurements were acquired by playing Crysis Warhead for 30 minutes and measuring the peak temperature. We also have included Furmark results, recording maximum temperatures throughout a 30 minute stress test. All fan settings were left on automatic.

We are using the higher performance fan setting available via the switch on the PCB.

This is an incredible set of results, and one of the few times when we have seen the new version of Furmark fail to push a card to 70c. When gaming the core never exceeded 57c, and the fans never peaked past 2,000 rpm. The reference card hits 75c when gaming and 83c under Furmark load ! With the fan switch toggled to the silent mode, the temperatures rose by 3c.

Return to ambient is a feature we have recently added to our reviews … we measure the time it takes for a solution to return to idle temperatures, immediately after full load. The faster the time, the better the cooler – for example a Noctua NH D14 cooler will return an Intel processor to idle temperatures much faster than a reference cooler. This is a good indication of how quickly a heatsink can dissipate heat.

It is not often a card can break the 20 second barrier, but the Twin Frozr III cooler manages to return the card to ambient in 16 seconds, one of the best results we have seen to date.

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